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And while the odds might be stacked against the Moatsiders as they prepare to face a professional side from four divisions higher, Bird points to all the other giant-killings that the FA Cup has thrown up in the past.

“We recognise that they have good players but football is football, and the FA Cup is famous for these games,” the Merstham boss said. “Every year there’s a giant-killing and this year it might be us that does it.

'Show me you deserve to play against Oxford' says Hayden Bird

“I’m really looking forward to the game but it has been a little-overwhelming. I’ve been involved in non-league football for many years but I can’t say I’ve experienced anything like this before.

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“It is like every game we win in the competition, we are on a rollercoaster and we don’t want the rollercoaster to stop. It could well stop on Saturday, but we don’t want it to.

“I can’t promise that we are going to win but I can promise that Merstham will give a good account of ourselves.”

And while Bird is confident in his side’s ability to rise for the big games, he admits that results like Saturday’s 5-0 FA Trophy win over Waltham Abbey are giving him more than a selection headache.

“The players were excellent,” the manager said. “It’s not a selection headache, it’s a selection migraine.

“As a manager I’ve always been pretty ruthless in that I have an idea of how I want to play and I pick the team accordingly.

“I normally just accept that you can’t please everyone, but games like this are the exception. These guys are giving it their all every week and it will be a great day for the club but unless they decide to change the competition rules, I can only pick 11.

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“I won’t look forward to telling those who won’t play, but they have to realise everyone will be a part of it.

“We will prepare for it how we prepare for all big games. A lot of the time in non-league football you are a big general with the coaching sessions, but for bigger and better teams you concentrate a bit more on the opposition.

“We have done this successfully in the past against the likes of Woking, Sutton United and most recently Ebbsfleet, but Oxford will be a big challenge.”